Builder Day at the Capitol 2016

Over 250 industry members from across the state attended this year’s Builder Day at the Capitol. Despite construction on the Capitol making space tight, our industry was still able to fit in over 80 meetings with legislators.

With a compact session several meetings had to take place in the hall due to the busy schedule.

The day provided a great opportunity for us to share with our legislators all of the good work our industry does when building and remodeling homes for Minnesota families and for us to ask our legislators to support several key issues. Both of these help elevate our industry at the Capitol.

The Top Issues for BATC Home Builders and Remodelers in 2016:

Home Ownership Initiative – Owner-occupied multi-family housing is not being built at a rate that keeps up with market demand. This is mainly due to problems with the existing warranty law, the lack of use of the Notice and Repair law (NOR), and litigation surrounding common interest communities (CIC)/ homeowner associations (HOA). Builders simply cannot take the risks associated with building this type of housing, creating a void in the mix of housing options and limiting the number of affordable homes in our market. The home building industry supports legislation that will balance the homeowner protection goals with a reasonable process that will ensure all claims are addressed in a timely and cost effective manner.

Fairness in Land Use Moratoria – Several land use moratoria have been adopted in the metro over the past 18 months in cities like Minneapolis, Golden Valley, and Lake Elmo, suspending landowners’ right to obtain development approvals while the community considers and potentially adopts changes to its comprehensive plan, zoning, or other land use regulations. These moratoria freeze projects and impact the local land and housing market almost immediately. We’re asking lawmakers to require local governments to provide a standard public notice 30 days prior to placing a moratorium on housing applications. Require a super majority (2/3) vote to establish a moratorium, just like it is required for other major land use decisions (comprehensive plan amendment, zoning).

Help Wanted – Across all segments of the homebuilding industry it is a tremendous challenge to attract and maintain a quality workforce. This challenge puts upward price pressure on every aspect of building or remodeling a home and impacts bottom-line costs for homeowners. We’re asking lawmakers to work with us to find creative ways to support a quality workforce plan that attracts and maintains healthy workforce levels throughout the homebuilding industry.